Shirley Ballas confirms 'changes' to Strictly series amid Thomas Skinner drama

Shirley Ballas has revealed Strictly Come Dancing will have some 'minute changes' this year, just hours after Thomas Skinner 'storming out' of a press event.

Taking to The One Show sofa just one day before filming the 2025 launch show, which will air on September 20, Ballas said: "There are some minute changes, so I'll be interested to see if the audience can spot those. Things that you will expect to be maybe there and there, are not suddenly there and there. They're here and here, that's all I'm saying.

"We've got small changes here and we're going to have all those iconic shows."

READ MORE: Strictly’s Shirley Ballas teases ‘I’m not allowed to say’ as she details dating rejection

READ MORE: BBC boss defended casting Thomas Skinner just hours before Strictly interview chaos

Earlier today, it was reported that former Apprentice star Thomas Skinnerstormed out of an interview, furiously telling reporters 'I'm not doing this.' The star was being interviewed by journalists at the BBC's Elstree Studios when he got up and left the room.

The 34 year old grabbed a reporter's phone as they asked him to stop. "He walked to the table with his head down, he sat down, grabbed one of the reporters phones, who told him to stop," an insider at the event has told the Mirror. "It was a shock. His reaction came out of nowhere."

The star had already been a controversial signing to the show, having drawn strong criticism for Twitter (X) posts saying it is "not far-right" to be "flying your flag and loving your country", and complaining "it ain’t safe out there any more" in London, saying the city is "hostile" and "tense".

Shirley didn't appear to address the events during her appearance on The One Show tonight, although she praised the BBC for selecting an "exceptional cast" for the upcoming series.

"I think this cast this year, I know I say it every year, is exceptional. I think the BBC have done an exceptional job of putting it together," she told hosts Alex Jones and Lauren Laverne.

Shirley also opened up about her dating life earlier in the show, revealing that she had been "rejected" from a dating app.

“Well, shall we say, I tried to join a dating app. Twice," she laughed. “And my PA got accepted and I got declined, twice.”

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